How Can I Be More Generous?

Posted by Rise Martial Arts

05/10/2013

I am writing this because I am not really sure if I am a generous person. I have been hearing a lot lately about the benefits of being generous and how most successful people are generous, and how the more stuff you give away; the more stuff comes your way. That is somewhat of a mystery, but it seems like a great way to live. So, what does a generous person look like? Here are some things I thought of:

1. They are able to see needs around them

2. They have compassion

3. They see potential in people and invest in them

4. They want to help those less fortunate and not oppress them

5. They give of their time and talents, not just money

6. They are not selfish

7. They have an abundance mentality, not a scarcity mentality

Some of these are obvious, but what stands out to me the most is # 7. A generous person does not feel the need to cling tightly to things. They seem to think “there is always more where that came from”, whatever “that” may be.

The selfish person on the other hand thinks that if they give something away, it is gone forever, never to be replaced. They view life as a compilation of ever diminishing resources that they need to hold on to tightly, so nothing slips away.

I would like to have an abundance mentality, but sometimes I fall into the “scarcity trap”. But since I have at least identified it, I can begin to change my thinking. How to do that? I will figure that out in another post.

One other characteristic of a generous person – they are happy, with life and with themselves. Sounds like a great way to live to me.

Is there anything you need to change in your life to be more generous?